Nvidia-backed Firmus intends to expand AI data centers in Asia-Pacific

Australian data center builder Firmus Technologies Pty has raised $505 million in an investment round led by Coatue Management LLC, as part of a global push to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The funding values the startup at $5.5 billion, Firmus announced Monday. Nvidia Corp., the leading producer of AI accelerator chips, also participated in the round, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.

The capital will be used to rapidly deploy AI hardware based on upcoming Nvidia technology across the Asia-Pacific region. Firmus, which has ongoing data center projects in Australia and Singapore, has raised a total of $1.35 billion in the last six months, including this latest round.

Firmus is spearheading the Southgate initiative, a plan to build renewable energy-powered data center capacity in Australia, beginning with a site in Tasmania. The facility will house computers equipped with 36,000 Nvidia accelerator chips after its first two deployment phases. These high-performance processors are designed to process vast amounts of data for AI model development and execution.

Nvidia has invested billions in AI companies, often in collaboration with venture capital partners, to cultivate a rapidly growing industry that has significantly contributed to the company’s rise as one of the world’s most valuable firms. In the case of Firmus, Nvidia’s support extends to companies that purchase its products, a practice that has drawn some investor scrutiny, which Nvidia has addressed.

Coatue, a New York-based investment firm managing over $70 billion in assets, has also actively invested in AI technology, supporting both computing infrastructure and service providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.

Firmus will utilize Nvidia’s Vera Rubin DSX design to build so-called “AI factories.” Vera Rubin is the code name for Nvidia’s next-generation chips and computing systems, scheduled for release in the second half of this year.

This Australian initiative aligns with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s push for “sovereign AI,” which emphasizes building local data centers to retain national data within borders—a strategic growth area for the Santa Clara, California-based company.

Firmus previously confirmed that the Southgate project has attracted a global hyperscaler client, referring to the largest cloud computing firms. Blackstone Inc., the world’s largest alternative-asset manager, has also contributed financing to the effort.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev